UN Chief Urges Israel to Halt, Reverse Settlement Decisions

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference at the United Nations complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference at the United Nations complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
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UN Chief Urges Israel to Halt, Reverse Settlement Decisions

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference at the United Nations complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference at the United Nations complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Israel to halt and reverse what he described as troubling and alarming decisions on settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, a UN spokesperson said.

"The Secretary-General reiterates that settlements are a flagrant violation of international law. They are a major obstacle to the realization of a viable two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace," deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.

"The expansion of these illegal settlements is a significant driver of tensions and violence and deepens humanitarian needs," Haq said.



Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

Witkoff, at a press conference held by Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, said: "I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the President."

Republican Trump said of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Oct. 7 2024 attack on Israel: "If the hostages are not back by the time I'm in office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone."